1975 Summer blockbuster Jaws returns with Stratford Film Festival double bill

By: Lisa Chester

The summer of 1975 notoriously recorded a steep decline in beachgoers as the blockbuster film Jaws took to the screens and scared the population out of swimming. Jaws wasn’t just a hit movie, it changed Hollywood and proved that a summertime event would bring audiences lining around the block.

“We wanted to show this for the audience experience. We wanted to do something fun and different this summer. We tend to do very curated films but thought it would be a great experience for people to see a familiar film on the big screen,” said Megan Smith-Harris, festival director of the Stratford Film Festival (SFF).

Being in a packed audience collectively watching the film brings a shared response for all, a gasp, a laugh, knowing what’s coming next and still being astonished.

This is a double bill with the celebrated “making of” documentary about Jaws, called The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws. This film is among the best documentaries about the film and is included in the 50th anniversary blu-ray DVD release of Jaws.

“We’re showing this documentary beforehand because it’s not just about the shark that wouldn’t work, it’s about filmmakers that wouldn’t give up until the shark did work, and until they made the film work. It actually heralded a fantastic cinematic breakthrough for Steven Spielberg, director of Jaws, because he had to come up with camera techniques and sort of suspenseful moments for the audience to imagine as the shark is not shown on screen,” Smith-Harris said.

In fact, the shark spends a grand total of four minutes on screen because it simply would not work for them most of the time. Another interesting fact, there were actually three sharks made for filming different angles, all named Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer.

“This documentary was made by Jaws fans which is really extraordinary because these kinds of projects are generally niche. This one became so much more. It is narrated by star Roy Schneider and includes Peter Benchley’s final on camera interview before he died. There’s extensive interviews with Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, John Williams and more. There are also interviews with filmmakers that were greatly influenced by Jaws,” said Smith-Harris

This is such a great opportunity to revisit a film that perhaps kept everyone out of the water, or to introduce it to the next generation to appreciate the horror of it all.

“Bring the kids or grandchildren, aged 13 plus, and introduce them to it as a family. We’re encouraging people to come in their favourite beach attire, so breakout those Hawaiian shirts, your sarong and straw hat. We’re going to have a prize for the best outfit. You can come to one film, the other or both. It’s shark night!” Smith-Harris said.

The film Jaws, now over 50 years old, continues to resonate with audiences for how it still holds up. The psychological suspense from the first opening scene grabs and pulls the audience into the world of the great white shark terrorizing the ocean front community.

The screening of The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws is at 4 p.m. July 11 and the film Jaws is at 7 p.m. for the double bill at the Stratford City Hall auditorium. Tickets can be purchased in advance at stratfordfilmfestival.com and select Buy Tickets.